The boxing world mourns the loss of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa. Both fought at the same event and suffered brain haemorrhages.
Tokyo – Japanese boxing is in shock: Shigetoshi Kotari (8-2-2, 5 knockouts) and Hiromasa Urakawa (10-4, 7 knockouts) lost their lives last weekend. Kotari and Urakawa fought in separate bouts at the same event at the legendary Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Both died as a result of brain hemorrhages suffered in their fights.
Stopped after heavy hits
Hiromasa Urakawa delivered a thrilling fight against Yoji Saito on August 2, in which he was ahead on two of the three scorecards. However, he had to be stopped in the eighth and final round after being hit hard. Shortly afterwards, the 28-year-old succumbed to his serious head injuries.
“The WBO mourns the loss of Japanese boxer Hiromasa Urakawa, who tragically passed away from injuries sustained in his fight against Yoji Saito. Our deepest condolences go out to the family, friends and the Japanese boxing community at this difficult time,” it said on the federation’s official social media channels. The news of Urakawa’s death came just a short time after the loss of Shigetoshi Kotari – also at the same event.
Fewer laps, more safety
Kotari had scored a hard-fought draw by split decision against Yamato Hata in the OPBF super featherweight title fight on Friday. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and died shortly afterwards.
As a direct consequence of these tragic events, the Japanese Boxing Commission has decided to reduce the number of rounds in OPBF title fights from 12 to 10 in order to increase the safety of the fighters.